Queuing from before dawn.
Drivers trailing petrol tankers.
Talk of the Army being called in.
It’s clear the Government’s message to keep calm and carry on has fallen on deaf ears when it comes to what has become a national fuel shortage crisis.
What began as an isolated number of forecourts running out ballooned into hundreds within hours as motorists rushed to fill up their cars rather than risk being left without.
It’s important to remember that now, as then, there is no shortage of fuel itself - or at least at the refineries where it comes from.
The situation has been caused by a lack of lorry drivers, something that has plagued the industry for years but which has been significantly worsened by, first, Brexit, and then the Covid crisis.
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The ‘just in time’ nature of deliveries for fuel and much else besides meant that it didn’t take much for a slight worsening of the trucker shortage of late to spill over into the crisis we see now.
The Government has - like on so many occasions - been wrong-footed.
Talk of temporary visas for lorry drivers is too little too late to deal with the here and now.
Ministers will no doubt be hoping that, after the initial rush of panic buying, demand will naturally begin to ease.
After all, you can only fill up the tank of your car to the brim once.
That’s different to the panic buying of food and toilet rolls we saw at the start of the Covid pandemic.
For those able to work from home, the current shortages are a distraction.
But those who have to get about by car - whether for work or necessary school trips - it is proving a nightmare.
Then there are key workers, from care staff to NHS employees to teachers, where not being able to travel by car can have huge implications.
Petrol stations normally have reserves for emergency services but it is hit-and-miss for off-duty essential workers.
For now, many people are glued to social media looking for updates from others flagging up where and when fuel deliveries arrive.
This could turn out to be a short-lived crisis that soon blows over.
But the fundamental issues, from a lack of lorry drivers to a rotten public transport system that forces many people to drive, will stay with us for much longer.
